Laupus LibraryComments Off on Two Laupus Librarians Honored with National Award

Feb262013

At ECU, you never have to look far to find someone excelling at the top of their field. From our research labs to our athletic fields, our fellow Pirates are building reputations as champions of their field. Laupus Library is no different.

Ketterman and Cable were recognized for their article, Creating a Shared Neuroscience Collection Development Policy. The article details the Laupus/Joyner libraries’ creation of a new collection development policy that meets the research needs of ECU/Division of Health Sciences neuroscience faculty and students. Ketterman currently serves as Assistant Director of Collections at Laupus and Cable works as a Library Liason, often working closely with the Brody School of Medicine.

This recognition places them among the top librarians in the country, and furthers Laupus Library’s reputation as an elite health sciences library devoted to providing our students and faculty with top-rate staff and cutting-edge resources.

We know that ECU produces champions each day. We’re excited to share that Laupus now has two names to add to the list.

WHAT: A symposium on efforts to reduce health disparities and increase access to care for minority populations in eastern North Carolina. Presenters will use this year’s theme, “Enhancing Minority Health in the Millennium” to describe:

the application of social media in health and health care

the use of “apps” to enhance the health of citizens of NC and/or the practice of health professionals

the impact of environment on health and health care

healthcare reform after the 2012 election

community/campus partnerships as a vehicle to reduce health disparities

WHEN: Friday, March 1, from 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

WHERE: Greenville Hilton

WHO: Keynote speaker at 9:15 a.m.: Dr. Janice Probst, director of the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center; ECU faculty and community partners

AUDIENCE: The Symposium is open to allied health and public health providers, community residents and lenders, nurses, dentists and oral health providers, physicians, other health care providers, faith-based organizations, ECU faculty/staff/students, and the general public.

Presented by the College of Allied Health Sciences in collaboration with ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation and the ECU Office of Continuing Studies.

Jean Mills earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977 and a master’s in public administration with a concentration in community health from ECU in 1984. She died from breast cancer in 2000. Amos T. Mills III, Jean’s brother, created the symposium in an effort to keep her spirit of discovery and community outreach alive.

East Carolina University College of Nursing will be home to a new degree program in the fall! The UNC Board of Governors gave approval for ECU to offer a doctor of nursing practice degree beginning in August 2013.

Recent studies by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine call for nurses to achieve higher education levels to meet changing healthcare needs. For nurse practitioners and other advance practice nurses this means additional education with a strong focus on clinical practice.

East Carolina’s doctor of nursing practice program coursework is 100% online, and clinical practice sites include primary care clinics, hospitals, and public health care agencies. Students are required to attend skills sessions at the College of Nursing several times a year.

As a leader in distance education, ECU has invested in the technology and resources to make the program successful. The College of Nursing is nationally recognized for online graduate education, so the new degree will be a natural fit in a graduate program with a proven history of successful online course delivery. Students can expect interactive coursework and considerable experience with our virtual clinic environment.

The initial DNP student cohort is for master’s prepared advance practice nurses. The program will be available to Registered Nurses with bachelor’s degrees in fall 2014. Prospective students may contact Dr. Bobby Lowery, director of DNP implementation, for application information.

Believe it or not, even dentists eat candy and other sweet treats on occasion. In fact, we’d argue that the ability to enjoy candy hearts each February is one of the sweetest incentives to maintaining good oral health. Go ahead – tell your kids we said so!

While you’re at it, you might check out the fun, free resources available to you all month long, through the American Dental Association’s National Children’s Dental Health Month. Every February, ADA sponsors the month to raise national awareness around oral health best practices for youth – a message that ECU School of Dental Medicine faculty and students would like to deliver to North Carolina’s many underserved dental patients. So while National Children’s Dental Health Month gives us yet another reason to love February, you might say it’s an occasion we at ECU commemorate year-round.

We want to inform kids (and grown-ups!) about dental care best practices that allow them to both continue eating the foods they love, and safeguard against a variety of health problems. And ever since we opened our doors in the fall of 2011, improving access to patient care has been our goal.

The path to better oral health in North Carolina starts with our kids. When we teach our children to care for their teeth at an early age, they’ll reap the benefits for a lifetime. Today, that cavity-free kid who remembers to brush twice a day can still enjoy a few candy hearts. And down the road, the grown-up version of the same child will remember that flossing is part of the overall regimen in preventing heart disease.

Do you still think Facebook is frivolous and Twitter nothing more than updates on what you ate for breakfast? Think again.

More and more, social media platforms are being used by health sciences thought leaders to promote their work and connect with others who share similar interests and passions. And now, Laupus Library is providing our budding experts in the medical, dental, nursing and allied health fields with free online access to a series of presentations and tutorials on how to leverage these channels to their professional advantage.

The Social MEDia Course is the brainchild of Dr. Bertalan Mesko who said, “Digital literacy must be in the medical curriculum globally.” We agree.

Comprised of 16 self-paced, easy-to-access presentations, the course covers everything from how to use Twitter and Tumblr effectively to strategies for connecting and collaborating with fellow medical professionals from across the world.

Laupus provides Division of Health Sciences faculty, staff, and students with free access to presentations and corresponding materials, regardless of whether or not they register to attend a presentation.

This is another example of the innovative resources Laupus provides to keep our campus on the cutting edge of the health sciences field. We look forward to following the current – and future – thought leaders among us on social media!